Koi epidemic: Tips On How To Protect Your Koi From Koi Herpes Virus
When it comes to taking care of your Koi, part of it is protecting them from a deadly koi ailment known as the KHV (or Koi Herpes Virus). Fact of the matter is that your pets is really susceptible to this kind of disease. So what can you do to protect them from it? The only way you can protect them from this virus is to ensure that they never get exposed to it. Getting the necessary information that you need to know about this koi ailment will get your koi the best protection that they’re going to need.
The Facts About The Disease:
Since its first outbreak, little has been known about this koi ailment. Knowing the facts is an essential thing for the protection of your koi. The KHV is a deadly koi ailment which has just recently appeared in the Koi industry. In the late 1998 and early 1999, the first outbreak has been reported in Israel, then in the following years has been confirmed in places like Europe, Asia and the U.S. This kind of koi ailment is known to infect the victim throughout their life. Even those who don’t show signs of the virus are considered as carriers if they have been exposed to it for a certain amount of time. The mortality rate for those that have been exposed to the koi ailment is 60 percent to 80 percent.
There is still no known cure for this koi ailment. Even if proper treatment has been given to your koi, they will never again go to a new home, because if you put them in a healthy koi population, they will spread the virus to the others. This virus can spread in many ways, like the fish coming into contact with the infected ones, tools used to handle the infected fish, the water in which the infected fish swam, and many more. Stress can increase the mortality rate of the fish. Temperatures around 74 degrees Fahrenheit can be used to track the koi ailment, and it will allow the necessary testing and quarantining of your koi to observe if they have been exposed or not.
The Preventative Measures: Depopulation and Quarantine
Depopulation is one of the best preventative measures that you can do to eliminate the possibilities of this koi ailment, and this means the elimination of your whole pet population. Although this may seem cruel to your koi, with this you can really ensure that you don’t infect the other koi in your pond. Another method is by quarantining. If you buy a new fish, quarantine it before mixing it with your current Koi population (for 15 days or more).
In quarantining your koi, they should be totally isolated from anything else. Separate the food, tools and water that you’re going to use for the quarantined koi, and ensure that the tools that you use for them doesn’t leave the area in which they have been used. Procedures for proper hand washing in handling your koi and the essential items should be observed. Following these effective preventative measures can help you avoid your koi from catching the infectious disease.
